


Brothers Where Art Thou?

by Comicfan



Series: Fathers and Son [3]
Category: Red Hood and the Outlaws
Genre: Gen, Some cursing in the narrative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25916983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comicfan/pseuds/Comicfan
Summary: More of the family learn that Willis Todd is alive and Jason has to be ready to deal with the fallout.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd & Tim Drake, Jason Todd & Willis Todd
Series: Fathers and Son [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878103
Comments: 59
Kudos: 162





	1. Chapter 1

"What are things like with your brothers?"

It was an awkward question to ask and not just because of the semi-relationships Jason had formed with them. For his dad to ask about his adopted brothers, well that was uncomfortable for both of them. It was a reminder of one of the topics they had steered clear of...of Jason having another family. Now they were actually talking about one of the many elephants in the room. Willis' voice reflected a little of the strain towards the end when he said the word "brothers." When Jason didn't answer his nerves seemed to get to him a little.

"Is it just the three? The papers ain't exactly right half the time 'bout who he adopted." Neither of them had said his name since they started talking again, as if they feared saying it would suddenly summon him. "Miguel told me a little 'bout Tim but--"

Right, Miguel and his dad had worked together with him as their boss once. They had seemed to get along okay yet it still surprised him that his old man would hold a conversation with Bunker. A former henchman for nearly every super villain in Gotham talking with a superhero. Would wonders ever cease?

"I don't even think we're sure who's officially adopted anymore." Jason said with a small smile because yes, he saw the humor in it. 

He started with Duke and Cassandra since he interacted with them the least. Giving general impressions and brief summaries of their back stories. From there things got more uncomfortable because getting into his history with the others was an emotional land mine. Jason started with Tim since his dad at least learned a little bit about him beforehand.

"I get along with Tim the best, which is odd since we didn't start out that great...that was my fault." No, he wasn't going to get into that story if he could help it. "Tim still made the effort to reach out to me and we work together pretty well."

Granted it did irk Jason how quickly Tim changed his tune about Bruce and the rest whenever they were called in recently. They used to be the odds ones out, the forgotten Robins that could freely complain about it with each other. Then Tim started hanging out with his friends more and barely seemed to acknowledge Jason. Still, it wasn't like he owed Jason anything and he couldn't exactly blame Tim if he wanted better company.

"Damian is the 'blood son' and he doesn't like most of us. Come to think of it he's kinda like that Chihuahua the Boyds had."

Across from him Willis choked in the middle of taking a sip of coffee, he laughed in between coughs.

It was an apt comparison to make, the tiny dog had barked and attacked nearly everyone it came in contact with. The funniest sight had been the dog hanging off of a massive man's leg, right under the knee. The man (Mr. Duggan) hadn't noticed it was attached to him, no one even knew how it had got there and the persistent pooch had returned nipping at someone else's heels. That dog would have taken on a tiger because it thought it would have won.

"So," Willis took another of sip of his coffee to clear his throat. "You're saying the kid is Mr. Fluffington Von Bark."

" _ **That**_ was it's name?" Jason asked incredulously before he started to snicker. "I never knew what the hell it was called because all I heard was everyone cursing at it!"

"I remember."

Jason had tried to call it using the same name the neighbors on his floor did: Fuckington Mcfuck Bitch. He might have been too young to say such words back then...

"Mom wasn't happy about that."

"No, she wasn't but she called it worse." His dad retorted with a chuckle. For a moment there was a comfortable lull in their coversation then the smile slipped a little. "An' what about your big brother? What's he like?"

There had never been a easy way to explain whatever relationship Dick and him had.

"We don't get along the best but we don't hate each other. He's the golden standard that none of us can reach." He shrugged because there wasn't much any of them could do about that. "We didn't meet on the best of terms and we've never really been able to get beyond that. There's a lot of things we don't see eye to eye on."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Willis set his mug down on the table looking a little thoughtful.

"I thought he was a little too chatty, like he was trying too hard to be funny."

That was something Jason had forgotten about, his dad probably came in contact with Dick when he was the boy wonder.

"It was the puns, right?" Sadly that was something of a Robin trademark, everyone gave it a try at least once. Dick had leaned a little harder on that one than the rest.

"Yeah. He did a bunch of bad two jokes when I worked for Two-Face, but he ran out of stream five puns in."

"Only five? You'd think he'd at least do it in pairs." He smirked when his dad gave a tired sigh. "Former sidekick, old habits and all that."

His dad opened his mouth to say something then thought better of it and took a bite of his sandwich instead. It was likely a question about his sons' time as Robin. That happened every now and then, there were things one of them wanted to say but decided against it at the last moment. Their bond was still far to new and fragile to risk upsetting the other. Instead Willis gave a tired smile and said, "This has been nice. Going out to eat together."

"Yeah, it has been."

It was better than the times Jason had hid under the table with Sparky while his parents screamed at each other. Sitting with his dad was still weird but Jason could handle it. For now they were fine, he just worried what they'd do when they had no choice but to confront the issues they'd been avoiding.

\-------

Tim was the first one to find out about Willis although he didn't approach Jason for awhile. He seemed to be pondering if he should say something about it. When he did say something it slipped out on accident after Dick make a joke about them being a club of orphans. Tim had murmured (low enough that no one else could hear) that Jason could still be in the club if wanted even though he didn't count anymore. Upon hearing the comment Jason had openly stared at him and the realization had slowly trickled down Tim's face.

"What did **he** say?"

They both knew who he was referring to but Tim could only shake his head in reply. Once Dick had left their side Tim claimed that Bruce hadn't said anything to him. The clues had all be left on the bat computer, Bruce hadn't been in his usual organized state of mind and left it all out on the open.

"I'm not going to try to get you to talk about it. I know it's personal but _if_ you want to talk I'll listen." Tim finished. 

"Have you told anyone else about this?"

"Well no, who would I tell? I assumed this was a secret. But if you're asking if anyone else knows about it I don't know. Honestly it's probably only at matter of time before everyone knows." The younger of the two shrugged. "We're all detectives, Bruce is acting wild and not many of us know how to keep our mouths shut."

"It's no one else's business, it doesn't affect anyone else!"

Whenever someone else had personal problems or family issues they were offered help then everyone else kept out of it unless asked otherwise. He knew for a fact that not even Bruce was allowed to mess with Alice/Beth or Jacob Kane without Kate getting pissed off. The rest of them knew better than to pry. For the most part no one bothered Jason about his life outside the mission. There were the occasional "are you seeing anyone" questions from Alfred but no one really said anything else. But he had a suspicion that this was going to be different.

"It's gossip and family drama. Even when their not talking directly to you their talking about you. It happened to me after my dad died and I overheard everyone worry about me. It's bound to happen." With some hesitation Tim added, "You dad might be a subject of interest given his past and his ability to slip past a lot of radars. Everyone just thought he was dead for years."

"He wasn't some major supervillain, he was just a guy that worked as a henchman for whoever was hiring." It wasn't like Willis Todd had ever been a real player even Cluemaster had a bigger impact on the Gotham underworld.

"Yeah, but this prison he was in? Hierve something? Every inmates, guard and prison staff member was slaughtered. Whoever did it was a professional yet your dad manages to escape? Why was that place even targeted?" If Tim didn't know then Lex Luthor had covered his tracks well. Did that mean Bruce didn't know or just that he hadn't left that evidence lying around?

"They experimented on inmates with the promise of them getting to go home with reduced sentences." Jason decided to just tell Tim to get his opinion. "From what I've put together Lex Luthor found out about them using his work on the test subjects and had everyone killed on his orders."

Tim's eyes bulged at the new information before they slowly narrowed to study Jason. "Where did you--did your dad tell you this?"

"No, I went to Hierve Al Agua. I saw the damage in person and made a connection. Not long after I came in contact with Solitary, a survivor. While he wasn't quite all there in the head he said Luthor was behind it and confirmed my theory. Solitary was experimenting on Bunker when I arrived."

"Miguel hasn't spoken too me much lately. I didn't think..." The teen rubbed his face, he suddenly looked too tired to deal with their discussion.

"Yeah well he's probably mad at me for the way I handled things at the Iceberg and at you for vouching for me." At the sharp look he received Jason rolled his eyes and said, " I'll tell you about it later."

"Okay, well about the guy who used him as a test rat? Solitary? Maybe he can still answer--"

"Solitary is dead."

They held each other's steady gaze, there was no judgement in Tim's eyes, he got what Jason was implying.

"I assume there was a reason the only real lead to Luthor had to die?" Unlike the rest of them Tim was willing to hear him out and meet him halfway. He understood the logic with the way Jason dealt with threats even if he didn't always agree with him.

"Besides him being nuts, ruling one of the biggest hidden crime organizations and making living weapons?" Jason noticed the shift in Tim's interest. "Yeah, Soliatary made killing machines like his own personal Solomon Grundys, Batwoman and I dubbed them Mondays."

Tims' lip twitched at the name but otherwise looked seriously.

"Ever hear of Underlife?"

"Mostly rumors." Tim admitted with a shrug. "Nothing solid to go on. Let me guess, he ran it?"

"Yep. He had at least one town completely in his grasp--you can ask Kate for more information on that--he gained powers from the experiment--he could control perception--and had an unhealthy obsession with me."

"Then how can you be sure he's dead? If he can control perception he could have made you think he died to cover his tracks." For the first time that night Tim looked truly upset, fearful in a way Jason had never seen him before.

"I had a dog with me that could tell where he actually was, I used that to stop him more than once." Jason didn't like the direction the conversation was going.

"How can you be sure the last time wasn't a trick?"

"If I didn't kill him Bunker collapsing the building would have done it." He admitted softly. "Miguel only did that because I asked him to, he never wanted to kill anyone. I didn't want him to have it over his head but I knew it had to be done for his own piece of mind. Solitary messed with his head and would have kept doing it until he got whatever he wanted. I know that one of the worst things in the world is the knowledge that someone that wants to hurt you is out there and no one is doing anything about it."

"So you ended Solitary to protect him." Tim finished, he understood perfectly well what Jason was saying and knew why it hit home. "Or at least think you did."

"Partly." Jason admitted ignoring the latter half of what Tim said. "Miguel wasn't the only one he was hurting."

Pursing his lips Tim shook his head, as if he was preparing to say something he knew Jason wouldn't agree with.

"You still don't _know_ if he's dead. How does this guy connect to your dad? Did he help him escape?"

Those were actually good questions, Jason did know that Artemis had allegedly let Solitary go but he wasn't sure if he wanted to bring her into this mess. Solitary had been obsessed with Jason because he had thought he was Willis Todd but he hadn't known some of the basic facts about his dad. If Jason told Tim that he knew it would look bad especially since he was also reunited with his real dad as Wingman at the same time. Sure Bunker could clear up some of the mess since he knocked Wingman out and helped him fight Solitary but who knew if he'd be willing to speak on the Todd family's behalf.

His dad had implied he would escape in his letter, he'd said something about being wily. Did he escape prior to the slaughter? Did he have powers like Solitary? 

"Maybe not. I don't know. I doubt it."

"You know these answer don't cut it for us on the field, as it is this all sounds pretty suspicious, Jason. You know that, just like you know how Bruce and the others will see it. Which means--"

"--Their going to get nosy." Jason finished grimly.

"Look, just tells me what happened at the Iceberg and I'll see if Miguel can help clear up the Solitary stuff."

He knew it was going to be a long night ahead of them. What he hadn't realized was that it was going a very messy week especially when more family members discovered that Willis Todd was alive. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it wasn't a good idea to keep secrets from a family of detectives.

The downward spiral of Jason's life started not long after Tim met with Miguel.

Their first meeting had Tim explaining what happened with the Penguin and while Miguel still didn't approve he wasn't as angry. He was however too emotionally drained to talk about Solitary thus they made plans to go through with that particular talk the next day. Only Tim was too busy to meet with him in person, which was problematic for the other young man. Miguel had prepared himself for a long uncomfortable talk about what it had been like to be kidnapped and toyed with by a madman. His mind had literally been messed with, analyzed and picked apart piece by piece. There was no way he'd be able to wait any longer, if he did he feared that he'd never be able to find the courage again.

The problem was that he didn't know what Tim's current number was. Tim called him after all and he'd been traveling near nonstop recently. There was a list of contact information, different numbers Tim had once scribbled down in case of an emergency. Unfortunately each one was placed under a code he didn't understand. Miguel knew from experience that one of them was the red headed Batgirls' number...or was that another hallucination Solitary had created?

Maybe it didn't matter since it would eventually get back to Tim anyway. Selecting the one labeled "Crisis Hotline" he dialed and left a message. If it was anything like the other answering machines Tim hooked up it would let Miguel say the whole story in one go instead of shutting off like normal recorders did. Taking a deep breath Miguel began his tale, not knowing that his words would make life harder for Jason Todd.

\----------

The Crisis Hotline had been dubbed by Dick when he was Robin. Long before the days of Oracle it was used as a means to record Intel when they were out. Nothing fancy, it was used less over the years but it still served it's purpose. Any member in Batmans' inner circle could access it in the bat cave. Dick happened to be the first one back at the cave and hit play as soon as he found a chair. With a old fashion pencil and pad at the ready he waited jot down any pertinent information.

His brow furrowed when he heard the caller identify himself as Bunker. That was Tim's friend, so why was he calling the C.H.? Maybe it was something he needed to tell them that he hadn't wanted Tim to know? Dick listened intently growing more and more concerned as Bunker went on. The poor kid had been through hell and obviously just wanted to get everything out in one go to stop himself from reliving the experience. Dick made a quick note to discreetly offer the services of a therapist or Lilth to help Bunker sort his memories out. He had just written it out when the teen mentioned Red Hood. The pencil stilled as Bunker told him about Solitary obsessing over Jason, how the sicko had claimed he was his father.

While captured all Bunker could do was listen to him drone on about building an empire for his son and use his abilities to try to escape. Somewhere along the way Dick's eyes had hardened, his jaw had set and the graphite had pressed a little too hard against the pad of paper sending shards over the desk. He had stopped writing long ago, and hadn't heard anything after Bunker had spoken about the stalker his little brother had. When the recording ended Dick realized the pounding he had been hearing was his own pulse booming in his ears.

Dick had listened to the recording two more times before he took his motorcycle out and looked for Jason himself. It wasn't enough that the Joker had been tormenting Jason, now another nut job wanted to become his dad. Oh yeah, and he had powers to boot. Bunker seemed to think Solitary was dead but Dick had seen too many situations where someone should have died only for them to turn up later. Most of these miraculous returns were performed by Joker. With the abilities Solitary had he could be standing right next to someone and they'd never know it. How could anyone be sure he was truly dead?

With that chilling thought in mind Dick made a call and started to search for Jason hoping he'd find him. Dick had been trying to find Damian for weeks with no success, he couldn't fail Jason too.

_Damn it Jason, why didnt you say anything?_

\-------

Meanwhile Jason was once again stuck with Batman, this time in one of Riddlers' traps. They had both stopped listening to Nygma as he prattled on about his latest riddle. They sat in a half transparent cube with their wrists and ankles bound, they were across from each other but not looking at others' direction. The trap had already been disassembled but they were waiting for the right moment to strike. Which might not happen with Riddler still going on about his scheme.

"Get to the point already." Jason muttered under his breath. "He just wants to hear himself speak but he keeps saying the **same** thing."

He caught the tail end of Bruce glancing at him, a soft affectionate smile graced his lips before it faded.

"At least he gave us the time we need to escape."

"Are we getting better or is he getting worse?" Jason wondered, he remembered Riddler having deadly traps when he was Robin.

"Nygma is airing this live, he wants to make an impression for his _adoring_ public." The sarcasm in Bruce's voice made Jason smirk. It was rare that he'd hear the man have a sense of humor these days, he had forgotten he had one. 

"So when are you going to make a move?"

"When he's done speaking." That same smile returned when he heard Jason's annoyed sigh.

"That might take awhile."

Riddler had been talking for at least five minutes already.

"I realize that, it's giving Jim enough time to surround the building." Not once had Bruce used the Batman voice when he spoke to Jason that night. Not when it was just the two of them, it was a nice change of pace. Jason hadn't wanted to team up but it was inevitable that they'd run into each other eventually. "You can take lead when he gets ready to hit the switch while I take his men out at the rear."

Years ago Batman had promised his second Robin that he could take point when he was older and more experienced. It was more than trust to complete the mission, it meant he believed Jason was capable of taking care of himself and didn't need Batman to shield him. Bruce had never let him do it before and the thought of finally being worthy was kind of incredible. They hadn't mentioned Willis Todd all night, he wasn't a factor when Batman worked with his former partner. Without the usual distractions, the same old arguments, things felt good between them.

It had been nice...

Not that any of that mattered when Dick "Spotlight Stealing" Grayson had to ruin the moment by crashing through the glass ceiling. "Does he _**always**_ have to be a prima donna?"

"So it would appear." Bruce remarked dryly as Dick flipped over the oncoming henchmen and jumped into the fray.

Flinging off his cuffs Red Hood and Batman joined the fight. The battle was short lived and the only satisfaction Jason got was being able to knock Riddler out on live tv. (And maybe a bit of amusement when he noticed Batman pulling Nightwing back before he could do could literally beat him to the punch.)

"Why--?"

"He's been waiting long enough." Bruce murmured with a trace of a smirk.

"Look it doesn't matter--"

"I beg to differ." Jason retorted tossing Riddler to the ground as Batman ended the feed. Gordon's men could handle the rest of the clean up.

"We need to talk. **Now**." Gesturing for them to follow Nightwing shot up to the roof and they followed.

It took them some time to get to one of Bruce's nearby safe houses for a chance to talk in private. Nightwing had been very insistent on the need to be somewhere where they could isolated from the rest of Gotham. His behavior was worrying them, especially Bruce who seemed to be mentally going through every worse scenario he could. Jason just wished he'd get to the point already when Dick's gaze landed on him.

_Oh, this is going to suck._

"We just got a message on the Crisis Hotline from Bunker regarding his capture and your confrontation with Solitary." His older brother stated, his eyes all but pleading for Jason to say something.

 _Is he mad that I killed Solitary?_ Why was Dick so upset? Yeah, they didn't agree on the no kill rule but he never acted like this. Was Solitary someone he knew personally?

"And?"

" _ **AND**_?" Pressing his weight against the refrigerator Dick rested his head against the cool metal. As if he needed its strength to help him keep his composure. "Please tell me you're not serious, Jay. You have a superpowered stalker--!"

"Had. Past tense. He's dead. Kind of hard to stalk someone when you're under more than six feet of ground."

Batman tensed but Dick seemed to have forgotten he was there. There was an incredulous gleam in his eyes, he had left the protective embrace of the refrigerator and was standing before him trying to form words. 

"You can't be serious. With his powers--!"

"Not this again." He muttered under his breath. First Tim now Dick, why did no one believe him when he said Solitary was dead? And why had it never occurred to him that Bunker would have overheard that man raving about him? This was the same hero that had been able to free Jason before pointing him in the right direction towards Solitary. That had somehow figured out where Penguin was being held. Miguel had been more than aware of the world around him.

"--he could still be alive! He's obsessed with you and is delusional enough to think--!"

Warning bells went off because Jason knew what Solitary had thought and that was sure to set Bruce off.

"It doesn't matter what he thinks! He's dead and literally buried!"

Trying to buy time Jason stalled knowing it would be futile in the end. Even if Dick was stopped from saying something (fat chance) there would still be a recording if Miguel used the hotline. And even if Jason managed to erase that someone else could listen to it before he could do anything. He knew hiding the truth would only make the situation look worse but damn it he knew how they'd react. Knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what conclusions Bruce would draw.

Coincidences, real ones, were rare in their line of work. No one was going to believe there _just_ happened to be a super powered psycho that thought he was Jason's dad around the same time his real dad showed up. Jason understood the logic in that thinking but he hadn't been stupid about this. He knew Willis Todd was alive and had worked with him as Wingman. This wasn't some kind of trick, there was no way someone with the messed up mind and personality type as Solitary could somehow figure out how to perfectly become his dad after failing so miserably. Much less keep it up for so long and not get a reaction from dog. There were other factors too, but none of them would believe him unless they conducted an investigation themselves.

"He can control perception, Jason! He ran Underlife! The guy had the power to create a secret empire and stay hidden for years! Of course he could fake his own death!"

"You think he's the only psycho I've had to deal with? I've got news for you, _Dick_." Okay, the emphasis on his name might have been a little petty. "I've been dealing with freaks like him by myself for years!"

"Jason, he--!"

"Enough."

They both turned towards Bruce, the cowl was down and one hand was pressed against his ear. 

_Because he's listening to something on an ear piece_ , Jason realized with a jolt. Batman could access the hotline information from anywhere with the proper code.

It was apparent when Bruce got to the bit about Solitary thinking he was Jason's father, because his whole body reacted. No one dared say anything as he listened to the rest of the recording. If asked later on Jason wouldn't know how long they waited, it seemed to be take hours. He felt the strain in his limbs from standing in the same spot for too long. When Bruce finished he glanced at Jason then lifted his cowl back up. 

"Protocol: Prodigal activate."

"Confirmed." A voice chirped from the shared channel line the bat family all listened on. "Subject in protective custody?"

Batman gave Jason a long stare before murmuring, "Red Hood. Jason Todd."

Was this another secret plan the rest of them had in place? One made with just Jason in mind? No, judging by Dick's stunned expression he hadn't known about it either.

"Bruce what--?"

"It's a safety measure I put in place in case one or more of you were in danger and I couldn't protect you." The dark knight whispered in a defeated tone. "Until I know Jason is out of danger he will be put into protective custody."

"Why--?"

"Because Jason has been in contact with a man that claims to be Willis Todd." He finally turned to address Jason directly. "You failed to mention Solitary, Jason."

"What?!" Dick's head swerved so fast Jason could swear he heard a crack.

"It's not him! I know my dad! That lunatic isn't him, he didn't even know anything about my old man! He didn't even act like him!"

Next to him Dick flinched when Jason said "old man", it used to be a nickname he'd call Bruce and he hadn't even thought of that when he said it. For his part Bruce didn't seem to be affected, he said a code out loud effectively sealing the safe house from the outside world. "I'm going with the league to investigate the Hierve Al Agua site. From there we'll see if Solitary is truly as dead as you claim."

"Fine, but leave my dad alone."

"I thought you didn't like, I mean..." Dick babbled, he was confused because as far as anyone knew Jason hated his father.

"Your 'father' might be a mentally unbalanced man that's projecting a dangerous fantasy on you." The dark knight stated calmly.

"If he's not?" Jason challenged.

"Then I'm still not sure I understand why your opinion of your father changed. You've never wanted anything to do with him before now." To his credit the detective in him let his emotion through, he sounded more than a little perplexed.

"You always said to have all the information before making snap judgements, Bruce. Granted you've never followed your own advise." He could hear Dick try to smother a snort next to him. "I learned a few things I didn't know about my family that made me rethink some things."

"When did this happen?" Batman paused to ponder his own question before answering himself. "Before you shot Penguin."

"It's amazing how much sense things make once you put a little effort into it, right Bruce?" He allowed himself a little vicious smile as they awkwardly shuffled around.

"What makes you sure you can trust him?"

"I told you to keep out of it, Bruce. "Jason grumbled."But regardless of how things turn out I doubt it could be worse than your reunion with you dad."

Taking on most of the family, ruining his sons' love life and getting Alfred murdered hadn't endeared anyone to the alternative universe version of Thomas Wayne.

"Touché." The dark knight responded dryly. "Watch over your brother while I'm gone, Dick."

"What about Damian?" The eldest brother asked. "Doesn't he need us too?"

"He does. And it is being taken care of. For now stay with Jason, we'll have a family meeting soon enough."

"Oh joy." Jason sighed.

Yeah, this really sucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RHO suggested that the New 52 TT didn't happen, it was erased, happened differently or Solitary planted it in Miguel's head. Tim still knows him, I think that's definitely something that shouldn't change. Especially since taking it away means he had no reason to trust Jason in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation is underway while Dick and Jason talk.

The search of Hierve El Agua would have taken weeks, maybe even months to shift through. The Justice League managed it in a much more timely manner though the actual work had yet to come. Unburying the rubble had been the easy part, the hard part would be the actual evidence. Batman had told them about the slaughter at the prison beforehand but the league had gone in expecting for there to be only one corpse at the scene. According to records the dead had already been buried years ago. Yet there had been at least a hundred bodies at the scene, and Batman didn't even know if any of them were the actual victims of the first slaughter or those murdered by Solitary himself. The dead were the only (somewhat) salvageable clues they had as the collapse of the building had likely destroyed everything useful left from the prison culling.

Once again he required Barry's assistance, if only the equipment in the lab was as fast as the scarlet speedster. As it was they still had to wait for the results, something that Batman couldn't patiently sit around for. Superman had followed him to Willis Todd's grave site for a long overdue inspection. 

"This is it?" The man of steel stood on the ground next to his friend. It was the most impersonal cemetery he had ever seen, not many of the markers even had flowers from loved ones. 

"Yes."

"I can save you the trouble of using that shovel. I don't see a body inside the coffin." He frowned. "Do you think he faked his death or--?"

"Most likely a cover up by those in charge of the testing since they couldn't find or at least identify the body." Bending down he inspected the ground closer and compared it to a nearby grave. They were buried the same year yet Willis Todd's grave looked different, almost as if... "This site has been disturbed within the last few months. Dug up and reburied."

"Do you think he could have dug himself out like--" Clark trailed off when he saw Batman's expression.

_Dug himself out like Jason did._

"No."

"Why not? You never did find out why Jason was able to come back, did you?" Again Clark saw the change in his friend. "I didn't mean that as an insult, Bruce."

"I know, but it's something that's bothered me for some time." No matter what angle he approached he could never find a definitive answer. He didn't want this situation to have a similar conclusion. They needed to know if Solitary or Willis Todd were alive. "However Jason managed to return from the dead I doubt this is all related to some genetic link. As for Willis and Solitary...there's too many variables at the moment."

Clark turned sharply, he had noted his friends' hesitation, Bruce had stopped himself from saying too much. Maybe he had a theory he wasn't certain of yet and didn't want to admit at the moment. Bruce had dismissed such ideas in the past as flights of fantasy without attainable proof to back it up. After giving it a little thought Clark took a stab in the dark at what had bothered his ally.

"Do you think Willis is Solitary?"

Such a thing would be crushing for Jason and make it all the harder to protect him.

"The thought did cross my mind, but no." Bruce didn't seem bothered, so even though he acknowledged the possibility he didn't believe it yet. "Solitary does present a danger to Jason but he's not the only one I worry about."

"Willis?"

It made a certain amount of sense that Bruce would feel threatened by Jason's birth father returning to the picture. From what little Clark knew (which had just been impressions at most) Willis hadn't been a good father. Then again the man had let himself be turned into a test subject on the chance at returning home early. Some of the Justice League assumed that he had done it out of desperation for himself but as a father Clark believed otherwise.

"He could potential warrant some concern." Bruce admitted grudgingly. "But no, I wasn't referring to him either."

\-----

For the moment Jason was calm, he didn't think he had any reason to panic. His dad and him didn't meet unless they spoke to each other on the phone. Jason had no idea where he lived and the burner phone he dialed it on wasn't on him. There was little to no way for them to find and interrogate his dad without him pointing them in the right direction. After Bruce had learned the truth they had been careful about showing up on the dark knight's radar again. For now he could relax while Bruce finally did some detective work. He was a little curious how well Bruce would be able to deduce what happened at the prison given the debris. The league likely wouldn't be happy to be going through rubble for the rest of the day...depending on which members were available. 

_Don't panic but don't be overconfident either. Play along for now._

"This is pretty big, Jay."

For the first few hours Dick had given him some space, they hadn't spoken since Bruce had given his orders. Now that they were back in the same room it was inevitable that they'd talk.

"A lot of 'big' things happen, Dick. We don't exactly share everything with each other. We never have."

He wasn't angry at Dick, how could he be when he was just as distant as the first Robin. 

"I know." Dick sounded genuinely regretful about that. "I just...he was gone from your life for so long. That's a lot to take in."

"It is." He agreed. "I've had time to absorb this and it still hasn't finally sunk in. And before you ask, yes I'm sure it's really him."

"Okay. So for now we'll go with that." The older brother said holding up his hands passively. "How are you holding up? If it was me, well, I'd be a mess."

"I'm not rushing into this, no matter what Bruce may think. We're just seeing if we can talk then we'll see where it goes from there. It's not like we're planning father and son fishing trips, or whatever." It was surprising to realize that Jason didn't mind talking to Dick about his dad. It was nice to have something non-mission related to discuss, it reminded him of that time Dick took him camping.

Back then he hadn't felt like opening up about his home life but he had liked listening to Dick talk about his parents. The older boy had opened up to him and taught him about the great outdoors. It was his first time camping, gathering survival skills to deal with nature was different than living on the streets. Dick had been more than okay with bringing along some comforts from home like a portable tv and snacks. But he had taken Jason's request to learn out in the woods seriously. In some areas Dick was pretty skilled, in others less so, still Jason had always appreciated the effort Dick had made for him. Even if there had been some awkward moments when they had struggled to string more than a couple words together.

"When this is over all I ask is that you take things slow. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed, okay?"

"I'm kind of surprised to hear that from you, Dick. I thought you'd argue for me to not give him a chance and say that I already have a family." Taking a soda out of the refrigerator Jason turned back to see his brother shrugging.

It was obvious that the idea of the Todds reconnecting didn't sit well with Dick, yet he was trying to be supportive. He understood social cues more than Bruce did so he probably knew better than to argue about it. People tended to forget Dick butted heads with Bruce too, probably not as much since Jason returned but Dick knew what it was like. Sometimes you had to step back and let others make their own choices. For good or for ill.

"It's your decision not mine. I don't know everything you went through with your dad but only you can chose to have him in your life. Yes, you have another family but that doesn't mean you have to pick one or the other. We should be supporting you regardless of the outcome."

No, Dick was definitely not happy about the possibility of Willis being around. He looked like he was in mourning. Jason didn't know what to do with that much less being told that someone was in his corner no matter what he decided.

Dick took a soda of his own out along with a jar. Dick no doubt had the intention of making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for them. Something he hadn't done since kids at school had picked on Jason for being "street trash." Alfred had called Dick to look for him and while Dick hadn't been happy to be pulled away from work he had still come. No questions had been asked once it had been clear that Jason hadn't wanted to talk about his split lip. 

He'd miss that, he had forgotten how dependable Dick could be.

"You've been thinking of what to say for hours, haven't you?" Jason smirked when Dick's expression confirmed his suspicion.

"Well, yeah. I wanted to say the right thing and not mess this up. How'd I do?"

Taking the bread and plates out Jason gave it some thought and couldn't find any fault in what Dick had said.

"Not bad."

"Good." They all knew he was worried about Damian and blamed himself for the time lost. Maybe he wanted to make up to more of the family, if he did Jason couldn't blame him. "What will you do if we can't find Solitary's body?"

"Buy more ammo." 

"You're not taking this seriously."

Hopping up on the counter Jason shook his head at his adopted brother. "I'll do that when I have proof that he's still alive. What I don't take seriously is everyone thinking he fooled me after he already failed miserably."

"And where's your proof, Jay?" Finishing the first sandwich Dick cut it in half before starting on the second. "The only other person who met him was Bunker and even he's not sure Solitary is dead. Wait."

Pausing in the midst of spreading the jelly Dick's hand froze mid-air with the knife posed downward before he jabbed it up. The gesture made the jelly run off the blade making the counter a mess. Globs of red substance smeared on the surface, it the countertop looked like a crime scene.

"There was something else Bunker mentioned that I wanted to talk to you about. The new Wingman. How does he fit into all this? Bunker said there was a misunderstanding and you two fought. Why was he even there in the first place? Who is he?"

People tended to label them, Tim for example was known as the "smart one" at his brothers expense. Oh, Tim was clever but that didn't mean the rest of them weren't. They were all detectives, good ones, and Dick excelled at looking at all the angles. He was a people person that tried to see why suspects acted a certain way. If something didn't add up he was like a bloodhound that had just picked up a scent.

A little known fact about Jason was that he didn't like to lie, and he hadn't lied to the family. Mislead? Sure. He had always been careful about choosing his words if he had to directly address something he hadn't wanted to go into detail about. For example he had taken advantage of Penguins' absence but he hadn't done anything to him. Because Cobblepot had been the one to flee into his safe room. Jason didn't want to say that Wingman had actually been his dad because that would make things a little harder to explain. 

_The new Wingman, Dick? That's my old man, he knew my old ID, tracked me down to get me back to Gotham. Then he knocked me out and tied me to a chair to get me to hear him out. We fought again, then he worked for me and didn't tell me who he was. When he wanted to know why I wasn't demanding to know who he was I threatened to kill him. Funny story, right?_

No, Jason wouldn't tell him the whole ordeal but he'd still be truthful.

"He was someone who believed in me when no one else did. Said not everyone agreed with Batman and wanted me to come back to Gotham. I didn't want to because there was nothing left for me but he thought I could make a difference."

A suffocating silence fell over them only to be broken by a knock at the door. They both had gone over Bruce's protocol and knew no one was supposed to approach them without the proper clearance. Something that wouldn't be given until after Bruce and Barry had gone over all the evidence. That would take days at most and if something came up they were supposed to receive the call with their new orders.

"Go to the basement." Dick hissed.

The knocking turned to banging when they hit the first step.

\---------

"Is something wrong Bruce?"

The dark knights' scowl deepened. "The boys were just attacked."

"What do you need, Bruce? I can get you there--"

"You want to help, Clark? I need you to look after them until I get back." Buckling himself into the batwing Batman prepared for take off, his actions were on autopilot. Despite his cool demeanor Clark could hear his heart racing, Bruce was furious. In this state there was little doubt he was itching for something to hit.

"What--? Where are you going?"

"I knew something would happen once we went digging around for answers but I didn't think it'd happen this soon." The dark knight muttered as the engines came to life. "I'm going after the man who started this all."

The batwing left before he had given Clark a proper explanation but he could always catch up. For now he would check up on the boys. Hopefully Bruce wouldn't do something he'd regret before then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The camping trip with Dick and Jason was never shown but there was a picture of it. I believe that was from the first Nightwing series.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if Willis has powers and a lot answers to the questions Tim asks but the Willis in this story isn't Solitary. But from a detectives' POV it does seems very odd that all of this is connected. Jason knows better than to tell Tim about Solitary thinking he was Willis because it will make everything look worse.
> 
> I really just love the idea of Willis working for his son and his co-workers being Miguel and the Su sisters. Some day I might make a story out of that.
> 
> I also like the idea of Willis meeting his sons' future adopted brother when he was attacking Willis and trying to string together some puns.


End file.
